生物多样性与生态系统多功能性: 进展与展望

全球变化和人类活动引起的生物多样性丧失将会对生态系统功能产生诸多不利影响, 如生产力下降、养分循环失衡等。因此, 始于20世纪90年代的生物多样性与生态系统功能(biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, BEF)研究一直是生态学界关注的热点。然而, 随着研究的深入, 人们逐步认识到生态系统并非仅仅提供单个生态系统功能, 而是能同时提供多个功能, 这一特性被称之为“生态系统多功能性” (ecosystem multifunctionality, EMF)。尽管有此认识, 但直到2007年, 研究者才开始定量描述生物多样性与生态系统多功能性(biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality, BEMF)的关系。目前, BEMF研究已成为生态学研究的一个重要议题, 但仍存在很多问题和争议, 如缺少公认的多功能性测度标准、生态系统不同功能之间的权衡问题等。本文概述了BEMF研究的发展历程、常用的量化方法、EMF的维持机制和不同研究视角下BEMF的关系。针对现有研究中的不足, 本文还总结了需要进一步深入研究的地方, 特别强调了优化EMF测度方法和研究不同维度生物多样性与EMF间关系的重要性, 以期对未来的BEMF研究有所帮助。

Biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality: advances and perspectives

As global biodiversity losses accelerate, there is increasing evidence shows that there may be negative impacts on ecosystem functioning, such as declines in plant primary productivity and imbalances in nutrient cycling. Thus, it is critical to understand the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF). However, ecosystems can provide multiple functions simultaneously (ecosystem multifunctionality, EMF). Since 2007, the quantification of relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality (BEMF) has generated additional questions and controversies, such as the lack of consensus in appropriate multifunctionality indices and uncertain trade-offs among ecosystem functions. In this review, we briefly summarize the history of BEMF studies and the methods of EMF quantification, then outline the mechanisms of EMF maintenance and current research progress. We emphasize the importance of optimizing EMF quantifications and investigating the relationship between different dimensions of biodiversity and EMF. We also provide suggestions and directions for future research on BEMF.